{"nrhp_refnum":"09000303","name":"Industrial Complex at 221 McKibbin Street","other_names":["H. Lawrence &amp","Sons Rope Works","Manhattan Leather Works","Laitman &amp","Laitman Luggage Co.","Columbia Products"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"221 McKibbin St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Brooklyn","county":"Brooklyn","state":"NY","lat":40.70786071100008,"lon":-73.93775173199998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-05-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A complex of ten interconnected industrial structures at 221 McKibbin Street in the East Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. Its core is a three-story brick rope-spinning house from the 1840s, with additions built between about 1898 and 1951.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the complex is significant under Criterion A for its role in industry, tracing a long run of manufacturing use from the H. Lawrence & Sons Rope Works through leather, luggage and Columbia Products operations. The early spinning house reflects mid-19th-century mechanized yarn spinning in the rope industry. The complex shows how the site changed as rope making moved into multi-story factories.","narrative":"Occupying a block in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, this industrial complex grew around a three-story brick spinning house built probably in the 1840s for H. Lawrence & Sons Rope Works. The spinning house was extended westward before 1870 and has red brick walls, a corbelled cornice, bluestone lintels and sills, and cast-iron shutter knuckles. Later owners added one-story mid-block factory buildings between about 1898 and 1933, including work by the Manhattan Leather Company and the Laitman family, plus a two-story Columbia Products building of about 1932 and a garage-warehouse on Boerum Street. Together the ten connected structures document more than a century of manufacturing at one location. The complex was listed for its industrial significance, with a period running from about 1845 to about 1951. The early spinning house shows how yarn spinning moved from long ropewalks into mechanized buildings. A 2007-2008 rehabilitation reopened first-story windows and converted the interiors into light manufacturing workshops.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1845 - ca. 1951","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"No Style","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Rehabilitated in 2007-2008 by a non-profit for use as a center for light industry; interiors are now subdivided into light manufacturing workshops.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:52.91574-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/09000303.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000303/b5db21518a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000303/b5db21518a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"ALT55 - Victor M","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn-9-27-2013_031_-_Industrial_Complex_at_McKibbin_Street.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">ALT55 - Victor M</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn-9-27-2013_031_-_Industrial_Complex_at_McKibbin_Street.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75318419","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Complex_at_221_McKibbin_Street","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6027535"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/brooklyn/industrial-complex-at-221-mckibbin-street-09000303/"}